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  Method for actuating a reversible vehicle occupant protection means in a motor vehicleUSPTO Application #: 20080109137Title: Method for actuating a reversible vehicle occupant protection means in a motor vehicle Abstract: The invention relates to a method for actuating a reversible vehicle occupant protection means in a motor vehicle having a driving state sensor system and a reversible vehicle occupant protection means. The reversible vehicle occupant protection means can be triggered before the collision time and as a result moved into an effective position. For this purpose, the driving state data are monitored with respect to a state of emergency braking, and when the state of emergency braking is detected the vehicle occupant protection system is actuated. In addition, a state of oversteering and a state of understeering are determined by the data processing device. The reversible vehicle occupant protection system is actuated when the data processing device detects the state of emergency braking and/or the state of oversteering and/or the state of understeering. (end of abstract) Agent: Crowell & Moring LLP Intellectual Property Group - Washington, DC, US Inventors: Walter EBERLE, Wolfgang HINRICHS, Rainer JUSTEN, Bernd MAMMEL, Hans ROEHM, Guido VILLINO, Markus WOLDRICH USPTO Applicaton #: 20080109137 - Class: 701045000 (USPTO) Related Patent Categories: Data Processing: Vehicles, Navigation, And Relative Location, Vehicle Control, Guidance, Operation, Or Indication, Vehicle Subsystem Or Accessory Control, Control Of Vehicle Safety Devices (e.g., Airbag, Seat-belt, Etc.) The Patent Description & Claims data below is from USPTO Patent Application 20080109137. Brief Patent Description - Full Patent Description - Patent Application Claims
[0001] This application is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 11/281,060, filed Nov. 16, 2005, the entire disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference, which is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 10/476,549, now U.S. Pat. No. 7,178,622, which is the U.S. national phase of international application no. PCT/EP02/03980, filed Apr. 10, 2002, which in turn claims the priority of German application 101 21 386.7, filed May 2, 2001, the priority of which is also claimed in the present application. BACKGROUND AND SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION [0002] The invention relates to a method for actuating a reversible vehicle occupant protection means in a motor vehicle. [0003] In contemporary motor vehicles, restraint means such as seatbelts and airbags which can be actuated are used to alleviate the consequences of accidents for a vehicle occupant. Methods for actuating these restraint means in a motor vehicle are known from practice and from a large number of publications. [0004] In addition to the current restraint means such as airbags and safety belts with seatbelt pretensioners there are a series of further vehicle occupant protection means which can be actuated and which bring about a restraining effect and/or an energy-absorbing effect in order to protect a vehicle occupant when there is a collision. Examples of such vehicle occupant protection means are movable impact bodies, cushions and headrests whose size, hardness, shape and position can be changed by an actuation means. In addition to these vehicle occupant protection means, in order to alleviate the severity of accidents it is possible to provide further protection means which can be actuated and which alleviate the consequences of accidents for a vehicle occupant by virtue of the fact that the occupant is positioned, that is to say he is moved into a position which is favorable with respect to an accident. The means for positioning the vehicle occupant are, for example, an electric seat adjustment means, a headrest adjustment means, a seatbelt pretensioner and a movable cushion element. [0005] In order to alleviate the consequences of accidents in motor vehicles it is also possible to provide protection means which can be actuated and which also serve the purpose of protecting other parties in collision, for example protecting pedestrians and cyclists. Examples of this are adjustable engine hoods, movable fenders and impact elements on the outer skin of a vehicle which have an adjustable hardness. Further protection means which can be actuated are the ride level control means and the braking and steering system by means of which an impact can be optimized in the direction of a lower degree of severity of injury for vehicle occupants and/or other parties in collisions. These means are not understood below as vehicle occupant protection means in the sense of the present invention. [0006] When protection means for alleviating the consequences of accidents in road traffic are actuated, it is possible to distinguish between preventive measures, which are taken before an accident, and acute measures which are taken after an accident has been detected. The invention relates to the means of actuating protection means as a preventive measure. [0007] DE 19524358 C1 discloses that the hazard warning light system, an impact protection device and a seatbelt pretensioner are actuated when there are abrupt full braking operations, taking into account the speed of the vehicle. It is known to trigger safety devices with a preventive effect during a panic braking operation. For example, the seatbelt is preventively tightened during a panic braking operation which is detected. [0008] U.S. Pat. No. 4,258,931 describes a reversible protection system in the form of an airbag for a motor vehicle which is actuated in anticipation of a collision as a function of the brake pressure. For this purpose, a pressure sensor which senses the hydraulic pressure and by means of which an emergency situation is inferred is provided in the hydraulic circuit of the brake system. In the case of an emergency situation, a valve is actuated in order to cause the airbag to be filled. If the emergency situation does not lead to an accident, the driver vents the airbag manually using a switch. If an accident takes place without an emergency situation having been detected in anticipation of the accident, the airbag is triggered by means of accident-detecting sensors. [0009] The genus-forming DE 10005010 A1 discloses a method for actuating a reversible vehicle occupant protection system in a motor vehicle, in which case driving state data is sensed using a sensor system. The driving state data is monitored with respect to a state of emergency braking, and when the state of emergency braking is determined the vehicle occupant system is triggered before the collision time and moved into an effective position. In addition, this genus-forming document discloses that a critical traffic situation is determined from the driving state data relating to the steering angle, wheel speed, yaw rate and acceleration. [0010] DE 19708508 which relates to a method for sensing driving state data discloses that the state of oversteering is determined by means of an evaluation of the altitude angle. [0011] Furthermore, DE 4200061 A1, which is also concerned with determining driving state data, discloses that the altitude angle is determined from the wheel speeds, the yaw rate and the lateral acceleration. [0012] The object of the invention is to reduce the consequences of accidents in road traffic. This object is achieved according to the invention. [0013] An advantage of the method according to the invention is that many of the accident situations are already detected before the collision by using the sensor system which is already present in the vehicle, without making additional use of ambient data, and that on the basis of this the safety of the vehicle occupant(s) is significantly increased by actuating reversible protection systems. [0014] The sensor system for sensing driving state data comprises, for example, a steering angle sensor, a pedal travel sensor, a brake pressure sensor, wheel speed sensors, acceleration sensors and a yaw rate sensor. The steering angle sensor senses the steering angle at the steering wheel, this steering angle constituting, as does the pedal travel, a setpoint variable of the driving operation. In contrast, for example the sensed accelerations, the yaw rate and the wheel speeds are actual variables of the driving operation. A reversible vehicle occupant protection means is a means whose purpose is to alleviate the stress on a motor vehicle occupant in the case of a collision, the protection means being repeatedly moved from the initial state into an effective state, and can be returned from the effective state into its initial state. [0015] Emergency braking occurs if a braking process takes place with at least one feature which indicates a hazardous or emergency situation. This is the case if this feature (these features) lies (lie) significantly outside a predefinable value range. The state of emergency braking is determined by using at least one of the parameters of the brake pressure, speed of the activation of the brake pedal and speed of the retraction of the accelerator pedal to evaluate the braking operation. [0016] As an alternative to an emergency braking operation which is brought about by the driver, emergency braking can be carried out in an automated fashion on the basis of the sensing of the environment. A signal which indicates that automated emergency braking, for example the control signal for the triggering of the emergency braking operation, can also be used to carry out the method according to the invention. [0017] The state of understeering of the vehicle signifies that the radius of the setpoint path of the vehicle which is predefined by the steering angle is smaller than the radius of the path which is actually traveled through by the vehicle. In contrast, oversteering of the vehicle means that the radius of the setpoint path which is predefined by the steering angle is larger than the radius of the path which is actually traveled through. The setpoint path which is predefined by the steering angle is to be understood as the trajectory of the vehicle, which comes about when the vehicle travels with the steering angle to be considered and at such a low speed that the lateral forces can be ignored in comparison with the longitudinal forces. The driving state data can be used to determine the states of understeering and oversteering. [0018] The data processing device continuously checks whether one of the states of emergency braking, oversteering or understeering is present. If this is the case, the reversible vehicle occupant protection system is actuated, it being possible to adapt the triggering speed, the actuation speed, the hardness and the direction of effect as a function of the states of emergency braking, of oversteering and of understeering. In particular, the actuation of the vehicle occupant protection means when more than one of the states of emergency braking, of understeering and of oversteering are simultaneously present is adapted to a combined hazard, for which it is possible to provide an additional evaluation algorithm. [0019] In addition, the direction from which a maximum hazard is to be expected is determined by means of the states of emergency braking, of oversteering and of understeering. The vehicle occupant protection system is actuated in accordance with the determined direction of the hazard in such a way that the protective effect is provided in accordance with the direction of maximum hazard. Considering the states of emergency braking, of oversteering and of understeering together it is possible, when more than one state which indicates a hazard is present to actuate the protection system in such a way that the stress on the vehicle occupant in the case of an accident is as low as possible. [0020] In one development of the invention, the reversible vehicle occupant protection system is actuated only if the vehicle is at a minimum speed. This has the advantage that it is possible to prevent actuation of the vehicle occupant protection systems at low speeds. It may be desired not to actuate the vehicle occupant protection systems below a predefinable speed as, at a low speed, a hazard to the vehicle occupants which may be detected by means of the driving state data is negligibly small. [0021] In one advantageous configuration of the method, the state of emergency braking is detected by means of an intervention into the driving dynamics which is performed by a brake boosting system. This brake boosting system itself evaluates driving state variables in order to intervene in the driving dynamics as a function of the evaluation result. The intervention of the brake boosting system in the driving dynamics takes place by transmitting control signals to the actuation devices which influence the driving dynamics. These control signals of the brake boosting system can be used to detect the emergency braking operation. As an alternative to the control signals it is possible to use a different information signal which is transmitted by the brake boosting system to a data bus in order to detect the state of emergency braking. An advantage of this configuration of the method is that an emergency braking operation is detected with particularly little expenditure. On the other hand it is necessary to accept that triggering of the protection systems is associated with the algorithm of the brake boosting system. [0022] In one further configuration of the method, the control signal of the brake light switch is used to check the plausibility of the emergency braking operation. This signal is frequently made available on a data bus in the vehicle so that no additional expenditure on cabling comes about. An advantage of the redundancy which is achieved by means of this development of the method with respect to the detection of an emergency braking operation is that the reliability of the decision when a reversible protection system is actuated is increased. [0023] In one configuration of the method, the states of understeering and oversteering are determined by virtue of the fact that the difference formed between an angle which describes an actual change in the driving direction and the steering angle is evaluated. This evaluation may comprise a simple threshold value interrogation, the threshold value being permanently predefinable, or the threshold value can be adapted as a function of other parameters, for example the properties of the road or the loading of the vehicle. The states of oversteering and understeering can also be determined using chronologically preceding values of the travel-describing angle and of the steering angle. By means of the previous values of the angles which are determined it is possible to form the difference between two angles as a function of time and subject it to an evaluation. For example, the calculated difference in angles can be integrated over a predefinable time period, or the gradient of the difference in angles is evaluated. Continue reading... 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